In today's low-interest-rate world, there are still ways to earn 6% or more on your money without taking on a lot of risk. Why blue-chip stocks, electric utilities and MLPs look like good bets.

Even as the Federal Reserve holds short-term interest rates near zero for the fourth year in a row, there are plenty of places to find decent income in the U.S. stock and bond markets. You just have to know where to look.

We found eight groups with average payouts ranging as high as 6% without the risk that often comes with reaching for yield. They include municipal bonds, with yields between 1% and 3%; utilities and real-estate investment trusts, at 4%; convertible securities, at 3%; high-dividend stocks, at 3% to 4%;...